Thinking of designing your dream house? Using a virtual architect could save you thousands.

Getting an architect to design a house is expensive. Typically, architects charge a base fee plus a percentage of the overall cost of the building. So for instance, an architect may charge a base fee of R20 000 to draw up the plans, plus 7% of the cost of building the house (let's assume R1 million) which equals R70 000, meaning an overall fee of R90 000. For many cash-strapped South Africans, that is simply too much money to spend.

If you're happy to choose a plan that is not original and that is not specifically designed bearing in mind the exact conditions of your plot of land, then online plans are certainly worth considering. Leading the way in this regard are In-House Plans (inhouseplans.com). They offer a wide selection of home plans of all sizes, ranging from contemporary to traditional and even catering for slightly more exotic tastes, like colonial and Bali.

If you're wanting to build a modest house of 106 square metres, with two bedrooms and one bathroom, the website can offer you a host of designs to choose from. To give you an idea of how much money you'd be saving, an architect designing a house of this size would typically charge you about R33 000. In-House Plans, on the other hand, can sell you a plan which more or less satisfies your needs for R3 300 – a tenth of the cost of hiring an architect.

Safe as houses

Foremost in most home owners' minds would be: are these plans legitimate? The answer is yes. All the house plans available on the website have been designed by qualified architects, registered with the SA Council for the Architectural Profession (SACAP) and members of the SA Institute of Architects (SAIA).

In addition, all the house plans available online conform to SANS 10400 building regulations, which means you shouldn't struggle to get your plans approved by the city council. For this reason, though, the plans might vary from area to area – for instance, regarding how many windows your house is allowed to have.

For those who want to modify an online plan slightly, this is also a possibility. The plans can either be adjusted by In-House Plans' own architect at no extra charge (if they are minor changes) or otherwise you can download the plans in electronic format and ask a draftsman to alter them for you for a small fee.

Obviously there are huge benefits to having an architect oversee the completion of a project and these should not be underestimated, particularly if you encounter problems. If you believe your needs are fairly simple and don't foresee any difficulties with your site or house design, then ordering an online architectural plan may be the way to go. In that case, it might be worthwhile paying a bit extra for a skilful builder who will be able to interpret the plan well and make your dream home a reality